Excavating For Truth
by grka
Summary: The Angel of Death is scared to death because of a dentist visit


Hi Everybody,   
  
folloing are the words of my friend Anna. I want to make this sure, since I really don't think that there is a  
MISUNDERSTOOD profession in that story ;-))))))))))))   
  
Love, Grit  
  
Hello all,  
  
  
Here's a new story from the European team Grit and Anna. As it turned out one of us has a misunderstood profession that many feel apprehensive about - if not down right fear. The other belong to, well that's up to you to guess ;-)))))))  
  
  
We are indebted to our beta-reader Leigh who with wisdom and patience guides us through the intricacies of the English language :-))))))  
  
  
Disclaimer. Andrew , Tess and Monica does not belong to us, but to Martha Williamson and TBAA.  
  
  
Enjoy.  
  
  
"Excavating For truth"  
  
by Anna Hulterstroem and Grit Kaerst  
  
  
It had been summer almost four weeks now and it was hot and sunny. Andrew, Tess and Monica had been given a week free from the Father. Their last assignments were more than hard and so He told them to use their time and to relax.  
  
Monica and Andrew persuade Tess to spend the time at the beach. The day started wonderfully, Tess had a big basket with her, when they walked to the beach. It contained some food, some beverages and a blanket. When they reached the beach, the sun shone hot again and Andrew and Monica went to the water and played like little children. Tess had to smile when she saw her two babies enjoying their life. She was thankful that the Father gave them that time and she was glad to see that her babies were smiling again.  
  
It was shortly after lunch, when Monica went to buy a big ice cream for each. It tasted wonderful, but suddenly out of nowhere, Andrew started to groan.  
  
Tess and Monica looked worriedly at their friend, "Andrew? What's wrong," Monica asked at first.  
  
Andrew put his hand on his cheek and looked painfully at his friends, "I ... I'm not sure, but ... it hurts."  
  
"What hurts, Baby," Tess put a hand on Andrew's shoulder.  
  
"My teeth," Andrew answered slowly.  
  
Monica and Tess exchanged some surprised looks. Could an angel have bad teeth?  
  
When Tess saw, that Andrew's pain didn't disappear, she said, "I think you need to see a dentist, Baby."  
  
Andrew looked shocked at her and protested, "No! No way!! Forget it, Tess. I'm an angel, I don't need a dentist!!!"  
  
Tess had to chuckle when she saw his reaction. If she hadn't known him better, she would have said he was afraid. "Andrew ..." she started.  
  
But Andrew cut her short, "No! I ... I'm sure it will go away by itself. Really Tess, I don't need to see a dentist." With that he stood up and walked closer to the water.  
  
It was Monica who turned to Tess, "Tess, what's wrong with him?"  
  
Tess laughed a little bit, "Well Angel Girl, I think the Angel of Death is just afraid to go to a dentist."  
  
Monica looked in disbelief at her supervisor, "What? I never thought an angel would even need to go to one."  
  
"I didn't either, but like it seems ..." Tess pointed to Andrew who stood near the water and still had his hand on his cheek.  
  
Tess and Monica walked over to him.  
  
"Please Tess, make it go away!" he pleaded with tears in his eyes when he turned to Tess.  
  
She took her Angel Boy into her arms and rubbed his back, "I can't do this and you know it. The only one who can help you is a dentist."  
  
Andrew shook firmly his head, "I ... I can't. Tess please! Don't make me."  
  
Monica softly stroked Andrew's other cheek, "Andrew, we will come with you." And then she couldn't resist, but a joke, "Or do you want to be the only Angel of Death in Heaven who is afraid of a dentist? I mean, if he or she would know who you are ... well, who do you think would be more afraid of whom?"  
  
Andrew and Tess had to chuckle at this and so did Monica. But the fear in Andrew's face soon returned. He looked at Tess and his eyes told her, that he begged her to have another idea how she could help him, but she shook her head when she answered his unspoken question. "Come on, Andrew.  
Lets see if we find one who can help you."  
  
It wasn't hard to get an address. Tess pulled her car into a parking lot in front of the clinic. Andrew shrunk to his seat. Tess and Monica almost had to pull him out of the seat and to push him up the stairs.  
  
Monica felt so sorry for her friend when she saw his pale face. His looked really terrible. She put her arm around him, when they walked into the office. "Andrew, you aren't alone here."  
  
Andrew managed a small smile on his face, but he still wished he wouldn't have to be there!  
  
The sign on the door said "Kelly Waters, Dentist".  
  
A receptionist greeted the trio when they had stepped through the door. Tess explained that Andrew had toothache and she hoped that Andrew could get help as soon as possible. The kind receptionist offered them seats and promised that Andrew would soon get help.  
  
Monica was fascinated by the fish tank. The movement of the little fish mesmerized her. Andrew had got his hands on an old magazine and was now reading last years' spring fashion. Tess however had brought out a book from her handbag and after a few minutes she was deep in the intrigue.  
  
A door opened and a voice said "Andrew?".  
  
With a "lamb to the slaughter" look in his eyes, Andrew stood up and walked through the door.  
  
The woman who presented herself as Dr. Waters looked familiar to Andrew, but he just had no clue where he could have seen her. Andrew was asked to take a seat in the dental chair. The assistant put a bib on him and titled the chair so that he found himself staring up in the ceiling.  
  
"So, what's the problem, Andrew?" Dr. Waters asked him  
  
"My tooth hurts." Andrew said, indicating with his hand where it hurt. "W.. what are you going to do with that pointy thing there?" He continued as he saw the dentist pick up her probe.  
  
"This?" Dr. Waters said. "This is a probe, and this is a little mirror. Surely you have seen these things before, Andrew? They are standard dental equipment."  
  
"Well, actually this is my first visit. It has never seemed to be needed before, and to tell you the truth, I'm nervous." Andrew reluctantly told her.  
  
He did however open wide when she asked him to, and he listened with growing anxiety to what the dentist had to say. "Upper jaw 8+ to +8, no fillings; lower jaw 8- to -8 an occlusal, buccal cavity in 6-. We need to take an x-ray to be certain of the size of the cavity, can you bite on this please."  
  
Andrew bit on what ever it was, a cone was placed outside his cheek and then he was left alone with a parting word "Don't move."  
  
The thing he had bitten on had hurt him, so he had tears in his eyes when the doctor returned to remove the x-ray film from his mouth. She looked at him with disbelief - a full-grown man behaving like one of her child patients.  
  
The doctor started to make small talk while she waited for the film to be developed. She talked about the weather, but all along Andrew could see that there was some underlying sadness. Andrew saw a photograph hanging on the wall. It looked like Dr. Waters had been looking in a mirror.  
  
"Nice angle, taking a photo of yourself and your mirror reflection" Andrew said.  
  
Dr. Waters followed his gaze and laughed a little. "Oh, no that's not me and my mirror, it's me and my sister, Amanda."  
  
Something clicked inside Andrew's brain. "Amanda?"  
  
"Yes, did you know her? But her married name was Jenkins."  
  
Finally Andrew knew what he was doing there. He had recently taken Amanda home. She was so young, and the family had not taken her death gently. The return of the developed x-ray interrupted his reverie.  
  
"I'm sorry Andrew, but you have a huge cavity in your lower right-side, first molar. I must remove the caries and give you a filling. Do you need an anesthesia?"  
  
Wordlessly, Andrew nodded. At this moment he felt totally helpless and he wished Tess were there to hold his hand. The doctor came with what Andrew thought of as a huge needle. After a while his tongue and cheek had grown numb. Suction was placed in his mouth and the doctor came with the drill. A noise that seemed to cut through his very bone marrow started. To his surprise he could not feel anything, in spite of him gripping the armrests so hard that his knuckles were white.  
  
After an eternity of noise and strange movements around him, Andrew was finally allowed to sit up and spit. Never had a glass of water tasted so sweet, but to his surprise he could not feel his lip. He was afraid he was drooling and he was definitively slurring when he was talking. To complete his embarrassment both Tess and Monica laughed when they saw him emerge from the dental office slurring his words and constantly checking in the mirror to be sure that he wasn't drooling.  
  
Tess and Monica put their arms around their Angel Boy and escorted him out of the practice. The three thanked the doctor. Before they left Dr. Waters told Andrew that she wanted to see him the following day again, since she wanted to check his other teeth too. After all, he had said that he never before had been to a dentist and she thought today had been hard enough for him for the first time.  
  
Andrew looked above with a pleading look on his face when he heard that. He begged his Father not to let him go through that again, but the answer was 'No'. Andrew had guessed that already, especially since he had recognized the doctor's sadness and the other woman in the picture. He wasn't completely sure, but if someone would have asked him, he could have sworn that he heard a small chuckle in the Father's voice when He said no.  
  
Tess drove her Baby home. She had gotten the word, that there was an apartment that had been rented for them not far from the beach and when she looked at Andrew's pale and tired face, she knew that he needed some rest.  
  
When they arrived at the apartment, Andrew walked slowly into the room, checking once again that he wasn't drooling. After he had reached the bed, he laid down. Tess brought him an ice pack to put on his cheek. Andrew smiled wanly and tried to say "Thank you", but it was too hard to speak, or perhaps he was afraid his friends would laugh again.  
  
It was Monica's curiosity that took over again, "How was it Andrew? Was it as terrible as the humans say??? Please, tell me!!!"  
  
Andrew rolled his eyes, "Please Monica, I'm not in the mood to talk about it now. Okay?" And in his mind he added, 'I wish I could just forget it.'  
  
"Sorry Andrew!"  
  
Andrew smiled at his friend. He knew how excited she could be about new experiences, "It's okay. I just want to sleep right now."  
  
Monica and Tess nodded. They both patted his arm and stood up to leave the room and let him sleep.  
  
Andrew slept for a few hours. When he woke up, he felt that the anesthesia had gone down and he could feel his cheek again. His speech had also gotten back to normal again.  
  
The angel found his two friends outside. They were talking about something, but Andrew could already guess what the topic was they were talking about.  
  
Tess and Monica stopped and greeted their friend when they saw that he had awakened. "How are you doing, Angel Boy?"  
  
Andrew smiled at them, "A whole lot better!!!!"  
  
"That's wonderful!!!" Tess and Monica said at the same time.  
  
After Andrew sat down beside them, he told them about Amanda and that he guessed that this was the reason why he had gotten into *this mess*. Tess agreed and reminded him, that nothing happens without a reason.  
  
The following day arrived sooner than Andrew wished. Even though he knew now why he had this trouble, it didn't help him to relax when Tess gave him a ride to his next appointment. He had never really understood humans' fear of needles until the previous day.  
  
When the car pulled into the curb, Andrew whined "Tess, do I really have to?"  
  
He knew the answer, it was just that the cold knot in his stomach seemed to get worse and worse.  
  
Once again Tess dragged the very reluctant Andrew up the stairs and into the clinic. The waiting was short this time; they had an appointment this time.  
  
Dr. Waters came and collected Andrew from the waiting room herself this time. She x-rayed all of his teeth and then she sat down making a more careful examination than the cursory one she had made the previous day. To her big surprise there were no further cavities, in fact there was nothing indicating why he had had such a big cavity in the first place; no fillings; no missing teeth; no crown and bridge work; no plaque; no periodontitis. In fact his whole mouth emanated health.  
  
"You are a great mystery to me, Andrew. You came here yesterday with a huge cavity. You say that you have never been to a dentist before and yet, you have no oral diseases. I must confess I have never seen anything like it." Dr. Waters shook her head.  
  
Andrew sat up and carefully removed the bib. "I must say that the toothache was something of a surprise to me too, Kelly. But when I came here I understood. There is also something else. I shouldn't have any reason to be afraid of you. It's totally illogical, but I guess I have heard so many thingsŠ. Anyway, I told you I knew Amanda. The correct phrase would be that I know Amanda." Andrew started to glow. "I'm an angel, Kelly, and I was with Amanda when she died."  
  
Kelly took a step back the fear was visible in her eyes. "You are the Angel of Death! Don't touch me!"  
  
Andrew sighed. "Don't be afraid Kelly. Yes, I am the Angel of Death, but I don't go around killing people anymore than you go around hurting people. I'm just there to help people through a difficult time, also just like you."  
  
Kelly took a step closer again. "You were with Amanda?"  
  
Andrew smiled. "Yes I was. She thought of you, you know."  
  
Kelly nodded. "Yes, I could feel it. Did she suffer much?"  
  
"It was very quick," was Andrew's response.  
  
Kelly sat down and tried to digest what she just had heard. Tears were flowing down her cheeks, but suddenly she started to laugh. "Oh, I'm so sorry Andrew, but this whole thing is just too absurd. Everybody is scared of the dentist - even the Angel of Death! And I was afraid of you," she added soberly.  
  
Andrew had to laugh too. Kelly was right, it was absurd.  
  
After both calmed down, it was Kelly who said with a questioning expression, "I didn't know that angels could get bad teeth!"  
  
Andrew shook his head, " Believe me Kelly, I didn't either. Probably I'm the first one. But you see, God always knows what He is doing. With this, He has helped you and me," Andrew looked around and sighed, "Let's sayŠ I have had a new experience."  
  
Kelly had to chuckle, because she could clearly read in Andrew's face what he was thinking when he said that: 'One, I wish I hadn't had to make.'  
  
Kelly walked closer to him and hesitated shortly before she put a hand on Andrew's shoulder, "Was it REALLY SOOOO bad?"  
  
Andrew's face lit up as he shook his head, "No, not really. The toothaches were a lot worse. Thank you for your help."  
  
Kelly smiled at the angel, "*I* thank you!!! Since Amanda died, I had the feeling that I had abandoned her. I felt guilty because I wasn't with her when it happened. The idea that she died aloneŠ"  
  
Now it was Andrew who put his arm around Kelly, "Kelly, Amanda wasn't alone, God was with her and so was I!!! There was no way you could have known that she died." He took her in a tight embrace and let her cry.  
  
After she calmed down, Andrew walked out of the room to Tess who welcomed him with a cheerful smile. It was great to see that her Angel Boy smiled again and didn't look anymore like someone who walked to his execution.  
  
Together they drove Home. But Andrew was sure that he would often get to hear about his past behaviour in the future.  
  
The End 


End file.
